Milos Raonic serves against Taro Daniel of Japan during Day Three of the National Bank Open, part of the Hologic ATP Tour, at Sobeys Stadium, on August 9 in Toronto, Canada.Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
The Milos Raonic homecoming continues, as the Canadian charged into the third round of his first National Bank Open since 2019.
The former Wimbledon finalist and former world No. 3 took out Japanese qualifier and world No. 115 Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday, Raonic’s second win at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto.
His victory came just 36 hours after he upset world No. 10 Frances Tiafoe on a roller coaster Monday evening on centre court. The Canadian had muscled through a three-set thriller, which lasted nearly three hours and included two contentious tiebreaks. It was the Canadian’s first top-10 win since 2020.
The 32-year-old native of nearby Thornhill, Ont., is a wild-card entry at Canada’s premier pro tennis tournament, ranked a lowly No. 545 in the world after injuries kept him away from competition since July, 2021. The man who blazed a trail for the current generation of Canadian players is now six matches into his return – two of them wins this week in his hometown tournament. He hadn’t had back-to-back tour-level victories in two years.
This marks the first time in five years he’s played in Toronto, and four years since he’d played live in front of his parents.
Canada’s National Bank Open to close pay gap
He’s into the round of 16, but one could imagine Raonic advancing further. Some of the top players in his portion of the bracket have already been eliminated, including sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev, who fell to Raonic’s next opponent, 59th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald of the United States.
Luck has shifted for Raonic, who began the tournament with mathematically the toughest first-round matchup he could have drawn in Tiafoe – the highest-ranked player not to get a bye through the opening round.
Raonic said it’s been nice to be close to home, to visit his parents’ house between matches, to play with the family dogs. He’s refreshed by playing before an audience again after playing many months of ‘quiet tennis’ – that solo kind of training one does with almost no one watching.
“That interaction, that energy, it makes a difference,” he said.
Asked what it would mean for a Canadian to win this event, Raonic pumped the brakes on that notion.
“We are very far ahead of ourselves. You know I’ve won two matches,” he said. “I came here a few times as one of the higher-ranked seeds … it’s a very different scenario.”
Perhaps he was understating. The winning player traditionally signs the lens of the TV camera with a marker, and he signed the camera “Can Do!” after the match.
The 6-foot-5 Canadian, known for his blistering serve, has crushed 52 aces in his first two matches. The 37 he delivered at Tiafoe on Monday were the second-highest of his career in a best-of-three-set match, behind only the 38 he served up in a match in Memphis way back in 2011. He rifled 15 at his 30-year-old Japanese opponent on Wednesday, the fastest clocked at 216 kilometres an hour.
This time there won’t be a rest day before his next match.
“I thought I did things pretty well,” Raonic said. “I think I can play better tomorrow.”
Local favourite Raonic ready for long-awaited return to National Bank Open in Toronto
Raonic is the only Canadian man left in the singles draw after an emerging 21-year-old who plays a similar big-man style was eliminated. Quebecker Gabriel Diallo, 6-foot-8, lost his second-round match to Australian world No. 18 Alex de Minaur, 6-4, 7-5 on Wednesday.
Diallo had turned heads by collecting his first ATP Tour victory on Tuesday when he dispatched world No. 21 Daniel Evans, the Brit fresh off an ATP tournament title in Washington last week.
Diallo, born in Montreal to a Guinean dad and Ukrainian mom, packed the stands of the smaller, intimate courts at Sobeys Stadium, playing his aggressive brand of tennis. He served rockets – his fastest of the match was recorded at 214 km/hr.
“He’s a big boy with a big game,” said his coach, Martin Laurendeau. “He’s got a big machine, a big engine, and you want him to have a long career with guys now playing until they’re 37, 38.”
Laurendeau said Diallo “is a tall guy that moves well, but there’s small guys that move better.” Raonic’s game, he said, is a good study for Diallo.
“He emulates a lot from Milos, his game, the way that Milos was able to get to No. 3 with his big forehand and dictating and coming in and not being afraid to finish the point up there,” Laurendeau said. “It gives him a good sense of how he should be playing.”
Diallo has had a fast rise. He began 2022 ranked No. 991 has since risen to No. 141 – while juggling his studies and the tennis team at the University of Kentucky, from which he graduated earlier this year.
“With his serve, you look at a [6-foot-10 American John] Isner, and you look at some of the big servers, well his serve is not in that category yet, but it’ll get there,” Laurendeau said.
Diallo said he plans to play the Winnipeg Challenger tournament and the U.S. Open qualifiers.
He’s adjusting from the college team life to the pros, but sticks to his own personal routine before and after matches. There is no team stretch to follow, no team van to take everyone to the next event. He’s learning that the pro life is different. He said he learned a lot this week watching the strict routines of pros, including Raonic.
“I think this week was good,” Diallo said. “It shows I can compete at the highest level.”